Brent D. Mishler

Professor

Research Description

Mishler's research interests are in the systematics, evolution, and ecology of bryophytes, as well as in the phylogeny of green plants. He is also interested in more general topics involving the theoretical basis of systematic and evolutionary biology, such as phylogenetic methods and the nature of species. He has been heavily involved in developing electronic resources to present plant taxonomic and distributional information to the public, and applications of these data to conservation concerns through the development of new "spatial phylogenetic" tools for studying biodiversity and endemism using large-scale phylogenies and collection data in a geographic and statistical framework. Currently funded projects include: (1) spatial phylogenetic studies of the floras of Australia, Chile, and California; and (2) integrated systematic, evolutionary, and ecological studies of the diverse dryland moss genus Syntrichia, specifically focused on desiccation tolerance and reproductive biology.